攝影集《牠們住在我住的房間裡 They Live in the room I Live》

攝影集資料與介紹:

《牠們住在我住的房間裡 They Live in the room I Live》, 是藝術家賴維君於2020-2024間, 陸續地和近40隻小白鼠一起生活在房間中所經歷的生命經驗而成。

「牠們不算是我的寵物,也不是我的朋友,我們像是互相配合般地生活在一起。」

小白鼠與人類的基因高達98%的相似,但其生命卻只能依附著人類的意識,藝術家想藉此探討為何小白鼠短暫宿命是如此的真實且絕對────只能生死於實驗室或成為爬蟲類的餌食。群體生活的小鼠們隨著賴維君搬移至各個房間。在這期間裡牠們建立的社會性、階級之分、甚至繁衍,使她彷彿看到了一個微型社會,人類不妨也是如此呢。

賴維君記錄下這些來的純粹的生命以及無話語權、無身分的存在。鏡頭後的她試圖透過與牠們一起生活來分辨每個個體的獨特性。鏡頭後的她能分辨出來,在大家眼中皆為複製品的小白鼠們顯現出的個體性。透過拍攝牠們與在房間內的朝夕相處,她改變了動物與人類之間原有的地位關係:「我不苛求動物給予情感的回報、也不要求牠們聽從指揮,試圖以這樣的方式與他們相處著。」並抓緊老鼠生命的巔峰為他們拍下證件照,儘管這是用人類膚淺的身份識別方式在辨識牠們。她紀錄著牠們活著的時候與死的時候,她看到鼠死去的瞬間總會為牠們的美感到悸動且敬佩。死亡對她來說並不是永恆的悲哀,那只是短暫的一瞬,藝術家所在乎的是每個活著的個體和生命的獨特性。

“They Live in the Room I Live” is a project by artist Lai Wei-Chun, created between 2020 and 2024. During this time, she lived with nearly 40 white mice in her room, experiencing life alongside them.

“They are neither my pets nor my friends; we coexist as if we are mutually accommodating each other.”

The genes of white mice are 98% similar to those of humans, yet their lives are entirely dependent on human consciousness. The artist seeks to explore why the brief fate of these mice is so real and absolute—bound to either live and die in laboratories or become prey for reptiles. As the mice moved with Lai Wei-Chun from one room to another, they formed their own society, developed social hierarchies, and even reproduced, making her feel as though she was observing a microcosm. Perhaps humanity is not so different.

Lai Wei-Chun documented the pure essence of these lives, which exist without voice or identity. Through living with them, she attempted to distinguish the uniqueness of each individual. From behind the camera, she could identify the individuality of the mice, who appear as mere replicas to most. By filming their daily interactions in the room, she altered the traditional power dynamic between humans and animals: “I don’t demand emotional reciprocity from the animals, nor do I require them to obey my commands. I attempt to interact with them in this way.” She captured their peak moments of life in ID photos, despite this being a shallow human method of identification. She recorded their lives and deaths, always moved by the beauty and dignity of their final moments. To her, death is not an eternal sorrow but a fleeting instant; what the artist cares about is the uniqueness of each living being.

尺寸 : 16 x 21.6 cm
裝訂 : 裸背線裝
頁數 : 76
語言 : 中文、英文
年份 : 2024
出版 : 藝術家自行出版
售價 : 1200